Safe points for the Repsol Honda Team in Sepang

Malaysia, October 27, 2022:  An energetic start to the Malaysian GP saw both Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro settle into safe point-scoring positions on a Sunday full of risk.

Predicted thunderstorms did not arrive at the Sepang International Circuit and the 20-lap MotoGP race got underway as clouds filled the sky and the air hung heavy with humidity. From the front row of the grid, Marc Marquez made an impressive initial launch before losing positions into the tight and treacherous Turn 1.

The #93 sat with the leading group for the opening laps and protected his position in the top five. By lap seven he became entangled in a brawl with both Suzuki riders and Bezzecchi, the eight-time World Champion holding the trio off as Miller approached. Their battle for fifth place would carry on until the end of the race with Marquez crossing the line in seventh place, his fourth straight top-ten finish since returning from injury.

Further back, Pol Espargaro made an equally strong start to the race and immediately made up the ground lost due to his penalty from FP1. Like his teammate, Espargaro fought hard in the opening laps to protect his early gains and settled into his rhythm fighting for the remaining points. Taking the flag in 14th, the #44 leaves the flyaways with two more points and prepares for his swansong on the Honda RC213V in Valencia.

Race day was marked by the remembrance ceremony for Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz who sadly passed away.

Now just a single race awaits before the demanding 2022 MotoGP World Championship season comes to an end. A final push for the Repsol Honda Team before preparations for the 2023 season fully consume the team and a chance to enjoy a final race with Pol Espargaro in Repsol Honda Team colours.

Marc Marquez (7^th)

“As I said yesterday, what we did in Qualifying was above and beyond and this is more or less what I was expecting from our race. We gave our 100% all race to achieve the best possible result, we started really well but I saw I didn’t have the speed to stay with the leaders. I tried to find my place and avoid taking any unneeded risks and get some good information from the race. I did everything that Honda asked me so I am optimistic they will use this information to improve in the future. Now we can start to prepare for Valencia after a difficult weekend, because here we could see the level of our bike. I think we can be closer in Valencia.”

Pol Espargaro (14^th)

“It was a hard one today, especially with the temperature. It was not as hot as in previous years but the humidity was really high all the same. We started in P20 and had to be aggressive in the first laps to make up some ground. Finally we were able to get two points here, gaining six places. Now the attention turns to Valencia where I have been strong in the past and I think it will suit our bike better.”

Malaysian Grand Prix – Race Results

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Points	Team	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	BAGNAIA FRANCESCO	62	ITA	25	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	40’14.332
2	BASTIANINI ENEA	23	ITA	20	Team Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	0.27
3	QUARTARARO FABIO	20	FRA	16	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	2.773
4	BEZZECCHI MARCO	73	ITA	13	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	5.446
5	RINS ALEX	42	SPA	11	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	11.923
6	MILLER JACK	43	AUS	10	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	13.472
7	MARQUEZ MARC	93	SPA	9	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	14.304
8	BINDER BRAD	33	RSA	8	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	16.805
9	ZARCO JOHANN	5	FRA	7	Pramac Racing	Ducati	18.358
10	ESPARGARO ALEIX	41	SPA	6	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	21.591
11	MORBIDELLI FRANCO	21	ITA	5	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	23.235
12	CRUTCHLOW CAL	35	GBR	4	WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team	Yamaha	24.641
13	OLIVEIRA MIGUEL	88	POR	3	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	24.918
14	ESPARGARO POL	44	SPA	2	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	25.586
15	FERNANDEZ RAUL	25	SPA	1	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	27.039
16	VINALES MAVERICK	12	SPA	0	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	30.427
17	MARQUEZ ALEX	73	SPA	0	LCR Honda	Honda	33.322
18	GARDNER REMY	87	AUS	0	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	33.691
19	MIR JOAN	36	SPA	0	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	41.838
20	BINDER DARRYN	40	RSA	0	WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team	Yamaha	DNF
21	DI GIANNANTONIO FABIO	49	ITA	0	Team Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	DNF
22	MARTIN JORGE	89	SPA	0	Pramac Racing	Ducati	DNF
23	NAGASHIMA TETSUTA	45	JPN	0	LCR Honda	Honda	DNF
24	MARINI LUCA	10	ITA	0	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	DNF